WE DRAW ATTENTION There is one discipline for all our employees, whether they are ordinary workers or cadres. A worker’s breach of it is bad; a cadre’s is worse still. In the first case, production is harmed; in the second, liberalism and bureaucratism are cultivated, and one becomes detached from the masses, with very serious consequences. It is easy to look for and find a worker at his workplace, whereas some cadres seem to disappear without a trace. If you call, for example, the office, the duty clerk says: “He has gone out,” but does not know where; he has left no address. Go to the “Iliria” café—this time, in Durrës—especially between 9 and 10 a.m. and from 12 to 2 p.m., and you will see officials chatting over a cup of coffee or a glass of raki. But not only there. There are plenty of cafés in Durrës. A few days ago, the District Party Committee carried out an inspection and, we think, not at all by chance, confirmed what we said above. In the cafés inspected alone, 25 cadres were found eating and drinking during working hours. Many of them were Communists. The point is not that someone should follow these leaders around. Yesterday, there could have been 25 others in their place. But it is up to their conscience and their conduct not to allow themselves such behavior. The Party presents the strengthening of discipline as a constant task, one of the decisive factors for the proper conduct of work in every sector. This presupposes and requires everyone to do their own work, and even more and better than others, Communists and cadres must do so, setting an example. For the tasks of the times are great, and the decisions of the 9th Plenum of the Party’s Central Committee are implemented through more work and concrete action, not through words, nor by wasting time in cafés where, not infrequently, people engage in gossip. Meanwhile, there is so much work waiting to be done. To whom does a cadre of this kind leave all this work—only to the workers? For what, and for whom, does he know himself? Is this cadre, from time to time, the “owner” of everything? The people are, with the Party at their head. Yet certain cadres continue with outdated ways of thinking, with sluggish practices; they sleep soundly, feeling no concern or responsibility for the bad consequences their conduct and work bring about. At the seaport, goods are damaged, some irresponsible people steal, and there is disorder in the organization of work. As if it were nothing, the people’s money, their sweat, is squandered. Some officials have “invented” certain economic terms for work that has been going on for some time, but they are no good because they cost millions. Thus, over the past year, 520,000 hours were paid for in the economy, 230,000 hours in waiting, and 11,300 hours for cleaning (this cleaning figure is quite unbelievable, since across all that space in the port, full of goods, we have not seen a broom in anyone’s hands, nor any other tool). And this year, in just the first two months, 105,000 hours were paid for in the economy, 80,000 hours in waiting, and 5,000 hours for cleaning? Area managers and foremen do not check the documentation during loading and unloading. The volume of work increases, but it is physically achievable. Goods are loaded directly from the ship onto vehicles, while additional stages are entered in the paperwork, as if the goods had been unloaded onto the ground, moved by other vehicles, and then loaded again. The district’s payroll? They do not even know how to use the typewriter and perhaps get others to do this work. But what work do they assign themselves? When you find them in a café, it becomes clear how they “squeeze” an eight-hour workday. Such cadres have no moral right to hold workers accountable for their eight-hour day when they themselves leave an address saying “back shortly,” etc., or even try to deceive people, as happened with two cadres from the “Rinia” building, who denied that they had not been at the commission after the inspection group found them in a café. The cadre responsible at the municipal economy enterprise also took an unjustified position at the bureau; indeed, at the enterprise’s basic Party organization, only his merits were discussed and he was defended. The only thing they did not propose was decorating him (!). He was rightly disciplined with a severe reprimand, affecting his prospects for a Communist’s career. The issue’s analysis matters ideologically, not so much the measures the bureau imposed on these comrades. Through such actions, a cadre disgraces himself in his own eyes; as he distances himself from the masses, he loses their trust, and the masses are right to remove such cadres from their chairs. The masses want you among them, sleeves rolled up, “not riding high on a horse.” Time and society will cut the legs from under that kind of horse... Firm and responsible discipline is an attribute of an emancipated and cultured society. It is through its full implementation and the further expansion of democracy and the masses’ participation—not through slogans and grandiloquent appeals, or, worse, through the actions mentioned above—that the great tasks before us will be carried out. SOTIRAQ GJORDENI

INFORMATION FROM THE SOWING CAMPAIGN They are making good use of the time — KOLONJE — The rainfall in recent days has created favorable conditions for accelerating the pace of ploughing the land and planting spring crops. The district’s targets are ambitious: potato and alfalfa planting is to be completed by April 10, while maize planting is to be completed during April. How is work proceeding to meet these targets? Across the district, this year 2,890 hectares will be planted with spring crops. So far, about 65 percent of this area has been ploughed and prepared for planting. The readiness of the SMT’s machinery is over 85 percent, making it possible each day to plough and exceed the schedules. The increased pace of ploughing has also made it possible to meet the planting schedules for potatoes and alfalfa. During March, more than 70 percent of the potato area and 65 percent of the alfalfa area were planted. The first to complete potato planting were the cooperative members of Qafë-zeza and Selenicë. The agricultural cooperatives of Taç, Starje and Barmash, which have planted 30–50 percent of the area, need to speed up the planting of this crop. Particular care is being taken with maize planting, especially in Novoselë, Piskal and Gostivisht. Although planting has only just begun, in recent days schedules have been accelerated in all the farms. More than 70 percent of the area to be planted with this crop has been prepared, and over 200 quintals of organic fertilizer have been secured for it. KOÇO LIGORI

— VLORE — The current work season is at its peak, and its successful progress depends to a great extent on the readiness and use of mechanized equipment. But while tractor readiness is 75 percent and that of the planting equipment is nearly 90 percent, utilization does not match this level of readiness. For example, on the first day of this week, when the tasks called for an increase in the pace of planting and maize planting was to begin in the mountainous area, the situation was as follows: of 70 tractors assigned to planting, 51 worked; of 80 tractors assigned to ploughing, 55 worked. As can be seen, we are dealing with a considerable waste of time, at a moment when there is so much work and the weather... (Continued on page 2)

— LIBRAZHD — Of the 5,700 hectares to be planted with spring crops, 4,600 hectares have been ploughed. Nevertheless, a faster pace is needed in Lunik and Xhy-re, Gurë - Shpat and Stravaj, where the SMT, too, must provide support to overcome the backlog. In recent days, potato, maize, bean and tobacco planting has also begun on a broad front. Across the district, 80 percent of the potatoes have been planted, and many farms have completed this task. The pace must be faster... (Continued on page 2)

— MIRDITË — In Thirrëz, the Party Committee instructor, Dhorje Beshko, tells us that the pace of the day’s work is picking up here. Potato and vegetable planting has been exceeded, and the completion of alfalfa and maize planting is being accelerated. “We are preparing the land now, too, so we will meet the target for maize planting by April 10. I am optimistic that we will make it,” says Nudë Çaka, chairman of the agricultural cooperative of Munë. Today they are passing the halfway mark in maize planting. They are also making good progress, with high daily quotas, in Tarazh, Ndërfushë, Kacinar, Blinisht, etc. This year’s land preparation has paved the way for better planting, despite some shortcomings on the part of the SMT at the start of the campaign. Only a little land is still occupied by crops. Planting has now begun in the other areas as well. At district level, good progress has been made in planting potatoes, vegetables and alfalfa. Farms such as Kacinar, Përlat - Qendër, Malaj, etc., have also accelerated the planting of onions and other crops produced for export. However, some farms, such as Xhuxhë and Bardhaj, are behind schedule. The situation is such—with spring arriving in earnest and the days growing longer—that it allows no excuses. I say this because in some farms, although they do not put the work cattle to use (the reason given is that the ground has hardened), they keep blaming the machinery. Machinery is important and must be at the forefront of the campaign, but efforts require the work of all available manpower and equipment. For instance, only 6 hectares of maize have been planted in Billë, 9 hectares in Përlat, Qendër, while Bardhaj, Zajs and Spac are behind. PAL MEHILLI

REPORTAGE After traveling a long way along the Kir road, you arrive at Shoshajt in Dukagjin. Spring has only just left fresh buds on the trees, and patches of snow are still visible on the earth, beneath a few shady spots sheltered from the sun. This morning at Shoshaj, the sun has left the mountains of Shalë, Qafa e Agrit, Qafa e Nënshangës, and the region’s proud spirit resounds in a mountain song. It is the sawyer Gjini Logu singing; now and then he can be heard, his voice echoing through the forest as he walks. The day has only just dawned, but this man has enough joy for the whole day. “Your face is beaming, Gjin! What has made your heart so happy?” Gjini smiles, and all the reason behind his song, all the joy of that morning, turns into a story that perhaps would not be so beautiful anywhere else as it is here, this spring morning among the mountains and age-old forests. “I have four children, all four born here in Shoshaj. We call them all ‘the sawyer’s children’; Pjerin, for example, even at school, besides studying, patiently makes toys with the saw. I worked in Çukal and Fushë të Kezë; twice I broke my leg among the beech trunks. But the broken bone is stronger than ever; it never made me want to leave the forest. This forest has helped my family grow; it has given me joy, it has given me friends. Do you know what this Shoshaj sector has achieved? Well, for years and years, no one here has ever spoken a harsh word. A forest is hurt and cut down by a harsh word. All that I have said, and all the other things I carry inside me, have been understood by this young leaf that is falling. But I haven’t told you that my greatest joy today is that I’ll travel all the way to Shkodër to be proposed for a decoration. Do you understand? In my heart I carry the honor of my comrades.” Gjini’s story and emotion run deep. His joy is entirely natural. Nowhere more than in the remote forest sectors do brotherhood, comrades and friends become so deeply felt and take on such meaning. Every moment spent here, every new person you meet, opens a door for you into the home of Dukagjin. Here is Mehilli Koçeku, nicknamed “the tractor,” to convey in a word the extent of his physical strength: if someone cuts 3 cubic meters of wood in a day, Mehilli will manage 4. And whenever the outstanding foreman Fran Mërrizi says that their sector is ahead of its targets—for example, when I found them at 103 percent completion—he points straight to Mehilli. Because Mehilli does the largest share of the work here. This sawyer is one of those types who seem to embody the legendary strength of people from the alpine lands, wild and rugged, described in the writings of various geographical expeditions. We talked at length with Mehilli, but we have not recorded a single phrase of his in our notebook. Even when we teased him about the wedding he ought to have, which the whole Shoshaj sector is waiting for. But Mehilli only laughs—even when we tease him, as people do in such cases with bachelors who are a little late; even when we tell him that a couple has turned up in Belgium and elsewhere; even when we tell him that she will shut the door in his face if he does not go to her this year with a ring for the wedding, he still only laughs, with a joy and a human beauty full of sincerity and kindness. In a way, we can say that his wedding will be a joyful occasion for the whole sector’s community. The four little ones of Gjin Logu and the wedding of Mehilli’s parents, in this bright morning, are two themes running through our conversation with these kind, deeply moving people. While Mehilli awaits his wedding, Prak Ndoka, after 30 years, a father of three girls who delight in life there by the Kir, is retiring. Anoth— (Continued on page 3)

At the invitation of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Palestine, the delegation of the General Council of BPSH, headed by Vjollca Kallajzhi, secretary of this council, arrived in Tunis for an official and friendly visit. At the airport, they were welcomed by the secretary-general of the Palestinian Trade Unions, Hajdar Ibrahimi, and other senior officials of the Trade Unions of Palestine, Tunisia, etc. The day before yesterday, the President of the State of Palestine and of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Jaser Arafat, received the Albanian delegation and held warm and friendly talks with it. He expressed his sincere thanks to the Albanian government and people for the constant assistance they have given the Palestinian people in their struggle to realize their legitimate aspirations. Arafat praised Albania’s independent stance and the struggle and work of our people to develop the country in every respect, relying on their own strength. He emphasized: “We know the glorious history of the Albanian people and appreciate your independent policy.” During the conversation, Jaser Arafati asked that his warm greetings be conveyed to Comrade Ramiz Alia and the friendly Albanian people. On this occasion, the President of the State of Palestine hosted a dinner in honor of the BPSH delegation, which passed in a warm and friendly atmosphere. (ATSH)

Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Reis Malile, received the ambassador of the Philippines and plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Philippines, Hose Fernan-dez, and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania, Gheorghe Miku, accredited to the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, in connection with their imminent presentation of credentials to the Chairman of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania, Comrade Ramiz Alia. (ATSH)

A view of the book fair organized on Sunday in Tirana. (Photo: N. Xhufka)

● There is one discipline! (p. 1) ● Shall we sow or wait... (p. 2) ● May your honor grow, man of Dukagjin! (pp. 1–3) ● The dimensions of the Kosovo drama (p. 4)